A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of portable flash drives, more specifically a flash drive cap attachment.
There are many USB flash drives on the market that have a removable cap that when removed, enables the electrical contacts of the flash drive to be inserted into a USB port. This invention seeks to eliminate the unwanted, and often accidental, loss of the removable caps by providing an attachment clip that securely attaches to both the body of the flash drive and the removable cap. The loss of the removable cap may cause damage to the electrical connections on the flash drive.
B. Discussion of the Prior Art
The Brewer et al. Patent Application Publication (U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0038023) discloses a memory system comprising a memory unit enclosed within a housing that enables the electrical contacts of the memory system to be exposed when needed for contact with a mating element located outside of the housing. However, the system disclosed under the Brewer Publication does not have a removable cap that covers the electrical contacts of which an attachment clip is provided to prevent the loss of the removable cap.
The Regen et al. Patent Application Publication (U.S. Pub. No. 2005/0130471) discloses a thumb drive comprising an on-board memory for storing digital information, which may be attached to another object. However, the thumb drive disclosed under the Regen Publication does not have a removable cap with an attachment clip that prevents the loss of the removable cap.
The Bhogal patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,980,422) discloses a method and system for internally connecting a Universal Serial Bus device to a computer. However, the method and system disclosed under the Bhogal patent does not involve a flash drive having a removable cap with an attachment clip.
The Yang patent (U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,329) discloses a USB flash drive that includes a mobile storage device and at least one interconnector. However, the flash drive disclosed under the Yang patent is not directed to a removable cap having an attachment clip that prevents the loss of the removable cap that fits over the USB electrical contacts.
The Chen Patent Application Publication (U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0082963) discloses a USB drive mass storage device having a housing provided at an end with, for example, a USB connector, and at the other end with at least one card slot for different types of memory cards. However, the USB drive mass storage device disclosed under the Chen Publication is not directed to a removable cap that has an attachment clip that prevents the loss of the removable cap.
The Hirose patent (U.S. Pat. No. Des. 475,359) illustrates a design for a flash drive, which does not include a removable cap with an attachment clip.
In light of the above discussed prior art there is a need for USB flash drives having removable caps to provide an attachment clip that when installed will prevent the accidental loss of the removable caps associated with the normal use of the USB flash drive.